Sunday, February 5, 2012

I've combined my entire sketchbook of watercolor and ink illustrations with additional sketches and observation notes to create a book designed to both inspire and entertain.

Below you'll find a detailed description of the book and easy pre-order instructions!

Red-shouldered Hawk Territory, A Sketchbook Journey Through Nesting Season, is the chronicle of my experiences while sketching and observing a nesting pair of suburban Red-shouldered hawks.

Encountering these hawks quite by accident and in the unlikely circumstance of a business meeting, they immediately captured my intrigue with their acceptance of humans and their accessibility. Even as I embarked on this four-month journey, I never expected to witness the intimate behaviors I encountered, nor the surprising interactions that helped me strike the important balance between observation and interference.

As much a book for the aspiring naturalist as the artist, Red-shouldered Hawk Territory will take you deep into the lives of these hawks and into the personal experiences, both delightful and frustrating, that transformed this endeavor into a journey of discovery.

I hope reading and browsing this journal will inspire your thoughts, stir questions, make you wonder what you would have done differently, and, hopefully, send you searching for your own observation opportunity with a favorite species.

Red-shouldered Hawk Territory includes my sketchbook recordof observations plus additional sketches and notes as I observed this pair of hawks throughout a nesting season. Sketches include the hawks in many circumstances, as well as, the suburban habitat in which they lived, and the many other species that inhabited Red-shouldered hawk territory.

This simple, 50-page, sketchbook-sized book is packed with full color illustrations and designed to both inspire and entertain the bird-loving artist in everyone!

"Few people have the opportunity to share their yards with Red-shouldered hawks. But, for all of us, this story is an inspiring example of peaceful co-existence and the joys and rewards of sharing our home territories with wildlife." --Vickie Henderson

Thank you, Pam! You are fortunate to be encountering a pair of RSHs hunting frequently. There is a good possibility you are seeing them in their nesting territory. Keep an eye out for nesting activity!

I have a pair of these hawks that have nested in an oak tree in my backyard for the last 2 years.They also stay around during the winter.They are beautiful & quite loud !! I read they have the loudest voice of any hawk.

Hi Amy,You are so very lucky! These hawks are both beautiful and very noisy. More than once while observing them, I nearly jumped out of my skin because I didn't know they were anywhere around until hearing a loud call. Thank you for your comment.

Wonder of Hummingbirds Festival

Tennessee Conservationist

Vickie Henderson

Welcome to my Sketchbook!

A sketchbook is a journey into seeing, a place for your heart to come right out onto paper. Is it any wonder we shrink back and hesitate? But here’s one little-known artist's secret--all you have to do is show up, dig in, and get started. The rest will just happen! Sound like a bit of magic? It is. Bring along your sketchbook and join me. See what you discover!